Edzná Part 4 of 8: The Small Acropolis

The Temple of the Decorated Stairs, viewed from the plaza of the Small Acropolis. This is the most important structure on the Small Acropolis, both because of its size and because it occupies the east side of the Acropolis. East is the most important of the Maya's sacred Cardinal Directions. The temple gets its name from bas relief images and hieroglyphs carved into the risers of the stairs you see above.

My previous two postings covered the Great Acropolis, which occupies the east side of Edzná's Main Plaza. This time, we'll look at the much older Small Acropolis, which lies directly south of the Great Acropolis. In preparing this and the next three postings, I am heavily indebted to Edzná, A Prehispanic City of Campeche. This outstanding archeological report was written by Antonio Benavides Castillo. Unless otherwise noted in links, nearly all the information presented here--including the drawings and floor plans--is from this report. Anyone who wants more than a tourist-level understanding of Edzná should consider reading the report before visiting.

Overview

Google satellite view of the area south of the Main Plaza. In the upper right (northeast) corner of the photo is the southwest corner of the Great Acropolis, including the Southwest Temple and the Temple of the Moon. The open area to the west of the Great Acropolis is the southern portion of the Main Plaza. In the bottom quarter of the photo, just below the Great Acropolis, are four small temples arranged according to the Maya's sacred Cardinal Directions. These temples, and the platform on which they sit, are called the Small Acropolis. They are the oldest set of ceremonial structures at Edzná, with some parts dating back as early as the Late Pre-Classic era (1 AD-300 AD).


The Small Acropolis

The schematic above shows the four temples on the platform of the Small Acropolis. North is at the top. The quadrangular platform was designated by archeologists as Structure 419. The temples located on it are designated 419-1 (north side), 419-2 (west side- also known as the Temple of the Stelae), 419-3 (east side- called the Temple of the Decorated Stairs), and 419-4 (south side). There is a stairway on the western side of the platform that leads up from the South Plaza to 419-2.

This temple is the most important of the four structures because of its location and size. In addition, it has two rooms on top while the others have only one room each. The Small Acropolis is centuries older than the Great Acropolis. It is possible that the Great Acropolis' platform design (see Parts 2 and 3 of this series) was based on its smaller neighbor. Further, the placement of the Temple of the Decorated Stairs in the eastern position may have inspired the eastern placement of the Great Acropolis' Pyramid of the Five Levels.

West side of the Small Acropolis' platform. The Temple of the Stelae (419-2) can be seen in the upper right quarter of the photo. The entrance stairway can be seen at the far right and measures 13m (43ft) across. The platform itself measures 70m (230ft) on each side. However, this represents only 43% of the area covered by the Great Acropolis. The platform's height, from the ground level of the South Plaza to the top of its staircase, is 5m (16ft). By contrast, the Great Acropolis' platform measures 8m (26ft) in height.

Several upright stone blocks containing hieroglyphs were found in the South Plaza immediately in front of the stairway. These blocks are called stelae. Others were mounted on the stairs themselves. Still more stelae were uncovered in the rubble under the stairs, where they had been used as fill. One stela had markings from the 8th Baktun of the Maya calendar, which was the period between 41 AD and 435 AD.

These monuments help date the Small Acropolis to the Early Classic period, possibly as early as 300 AD. In addition, pottery fragments dating as early as 400 BC were found in the area. Altogether, this makes the Small Acropolis the oldest of Edzná's ceremonial areas. As such, it no doubt held great religious and political significance to the inhabitants. This is further emphasized by the temples' continued use until almost 1500 AD, when the occupation of Edzná ended.

The easter face of the Temple of the Stelae (419-2). While this pyramid has stairs on all four sides, the largest staircase is on the eastern side. This leads up from the Small Acropolis' plaza to the single room on top. The eastern staircase was built in the Puuc style of the Late Classic era (600-900 AD).

However, the most ancient architectural elements of the structure are in the Early Classic Petén style (300-600 AD). These include two stucco masks once located on the west side of the structure, with one on either side of the staircase. There is a small, rectangular room on top with doorways on both the east and west sides. The room was added in Late Post-Classic period (1200-1500 AD) and was likely roofed with perishable materials.

The Temple of the Decorated Stairs (419-3), viewed from its northwest side. This three-level, Petén-style pyramid faces the Temple of the Stelae across the Small Acropolis' plaza. There is only one staircase, built in the Post-Classic period, much later than the body of the pyramid . On the back (east) side is a broad, smooth ramp, another example of the Early Classic Petén style.

The Temple gets its name from various decorations, including human and animal figures, carved in bas relief on the risers of its staircase. Many of these carvings appear to have been recycled from monuments that were originally located elsewhere in Edzná. Some of these sources may have included fragments of stelae.

Selection of human and animal decorations on the Temple's stair risers. The human figures almost all wear some form of head dress and some show cosmetic cranial deformations typical of Maya nobility. In the upper left is the profile of a head facing to the right. A "speech balloon" containing a series of dots emerges from the mouth. Such dots usually represent numbers, in this case 2 and 4. A reclining feline can be seen in the upper right. It is probably a jaguar, from the spots on its coat.

In the left center are two figures carrying containers. They appear to approach each other ceremoniously. An animal stands between them and a smaller one watches from the right. In the center right are two figures carrying what may be spears or clubs.

In the lower left are two figures, one standing and the other seated. They each gesture with one hand raised, possibly in reverence. Two more figures appear in the lower right. One is profile of a head, while below it is a standing figure with both hands raised, possibly in prayer or supplication.

Hieroglyphic carvings on a step near the top of the temple. In addition to the human, animal, and hieroglyphic carvings on the stair risers, other items were found. These included a complete vase decorated with a Plumed Serpent, a jade pendant in the form of a bird with spread wings, a cylindrical stone with the bas relief of a Maya noble, and fragments of anthropomorphic censers (incense burners). All these items are from the Post Classic period and are dated between 1000-1500 AD. They were found while excavating the stairs and top of the structure.

The temple on the south side of the Small Acropolis is known as 419-4. It is the smallest and lowest of the four temples on the platform. The rectangular structure has an east-west orientation and faces north into the plaza. There is a single staircase on the north side that climbs up the three levels of the structure. At the top is one long narrow room with a single door, opening to the north. A small semi-circle of stones on the surface of the plaza in front of the staircase may have been a ceremonial fire pit. The back (south) side of the temple has a broad ramp, similar to the one on 419-3.

The base, stairs, and rear ramp are in the Petén style. The walls of the room are made from Puuc-style stone blocks. The blocks had been recycled from other structures, indicating that the room may be Post-Classic. The ceramic materials recovered here provide an unbroken timeline from the Late Pre-Classic era to the Late Post-Classic. One of the Petén-style stone blocks in the northeast corner is carved with the right profile of a human head. The figure wears a hat and has its tongue sticking out. Perhaps this is a message from antiquity, telling us that "you'll never figure us out!"

On the north side is Structure 419-1, with its unusual extended platform. This temple faces across the plaza toward 419-4 on the south side. Like the other temples, 419-1 is quite ancient and has undergone a long series of modifications over 1.5 millennia. One of these is the extended platform, added to the temple in the Post-Classic period. It was constructed with stones cut in the Puuc style that were recycled from other, earlier structures. The purpose of the platform remains a mystery.

A broad staircase extends across the front. The left side of the stairs begins at the top of the extended platform but, to its right, they begin at the ground level. The staircase leads up to a single long room with three doors separated by two pilasters. Just outside the doors is a small rectangular altar. When they dug into 419-1, archeologists discovered a substructure that had once been completely covered with stucco and painted red.

Two large stucco masks once stood guard on either end of the 419-1 stairway. The mask shown in the drawing above was found on the left (west) end of the stairs. It is no longer on site, having been removed for safekeeping. Archeologists have discovered some evidence of the right hand mask, but have not yet found it. The masks have been dated to the Late Pre-Classic period (1 AD-300 AD).

The diadem on the mask's head dress is a three-pointed flower with a circle in the middle. A similar diadem was found on a jade mask at the great city of Tikal, in Guatemala. The flower and circle symbolize ajaw ("lord" or "governor") and denote high political rank. At the base of the figure are some horizontal bands with a knot in the middle. This is a key element of the emblem glyph for Tikal and represents union or alliance. The presence of these symbols puzzles me. Edzná was a close ally of Calakmul which, for centuries, was Tikal's great rival.

This completes Part 4 of my Edzná series. In my next posting, I will continue with the ceremonial structures surrounding the South Plaza, including the Temple of the Masks, the South Temple and the Ball Court. I hope that you enjoyed this posting. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below. If you leave a question, PLEASE leave your email address so that I can respond.

Hasta luego, Jim